50 families may have been evicted by Birmingham City Council in breach of court rules.
Europe’s largest local housing authority, Birmingham City Council told a Judge last week that they had tried to evict households without going through the correct court processes. Solicitors acting for one such family who were at risk of the same thing happening to them are encouraging those who may have been affected to see an experienced Housing Law Solicitor urgently.
The Community Law Partnership represented Mr M in an application brought by Birmingham City Council to evict him using High Court Enforcement Officers. During the course of the hearing, District Judge Salmon sitting in the Birmingham County Court was told by the barrister representing Birmingham City Council that they had obtained possession writs against families without following the correct processes.
Advisors for the M family made a Freedom of Information Act request, which revealed that up to 53 bailiff appointments had been fixed. The Community Law Partnership said:
“Families cannot be evicted without the correct legal processes being complied with. The City Council told District Judge Salmon that they had not complied with the correct processes. People have almost certainly been evicted because the court system has been abused by the council. Households who have lost their tenancies may be entitled to have their tenancy back”.
It appears that Birmingham City Council implemented a system of using High Court bailiffs without getting proper legal advice. Marstons Group High Court Enforcement Officers handled the applications for bailiff writs and got the procedure wrong. The use of High Court Enforcement Officers is controversial amongst lawyers acting for both landlords and tenants. They can turn up with little notice and where the processes have not been correctly followed, the tenant may not even know that they are actually going to be evicted, let alone when.
District Judge Salmon in his judgment handed down on Tuesday said that “I have been alarmed by the current practice adopted by solicitors acting for Birmingham City Council in connection with the obtaining of writs of possession…I have been concerned about the deliberate policy of Birmingham city Council not to inform tenants of their ability to seek to suspend the writs of possession… I was also alarmed at the practice (albeit now stopped) of seeking to issue writs of possession in the Huddersfield District Registry.”
1. The Community Law Partnership is a Housing and Public Law firm with a national reputation for taking on cases which result in changes to law and policy. They act only tenants and occupiers, never for landlords. They only help under the Legal Aid Scheme and can be contacted on 0121 685 8595. Their website is www.communitylawpartnership.co.uk